Mechanical machinery hazards

In practice, injury may involve several of these at once, for example, contact, followed by entanglement of clothing, followed by trapping. Reference should also be made to PD5304 2005, Guidance on Safe Use of Machinery from BSI. 

Mobile equipment would normally move on wheels, tracks, rollers, skids, etc. Mobile equipment may be self-propelled, towed or remote controlled and may incorporate attachments. Pedestrian controlled work equipment, such as lawn mowers, is not covered by Part III. 

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Chapter 24 Engineering science (J.R. Ridley) 479 Chapter 25 Fire precautions (Dr P. Waterhouse) 500 Chapter 26 Machinery hazards (Professor R. T. Booth) 555 Chapter 27 Mechanical handling (K. G. Pearson) 577 Chapter 28 Electricity (E. G. Hooper) 603 Chapter 29 Statutory engineering inspections (E. S. Long) 622 Chapter 30 Safety on construction sites (A. Pinder) 650 Chapter 31 Safe use of chemicals (S. Bradley) 679... 

Originally, equipment was made largely from wood or gun-metal and often rubber lined. These materials give the lowest hazards from friction with explosives. Nowadays, improved standards of engineering and of design have made it possible to employ stainless steel and plastics in the construction of explosive machinery with considerable increase in mechanical efficiency. In this way not only can processes be carried out more rapidly, but the quantity of explosive present at any time is reduced, with consequent increase in overall safety. 

The mechanical engineer will also advise on the necessary duplication of machinery, e.g. continuous duty, maximum short-time duty, standby duty and out-of-service spare machines. He will also give some advice on the proposed method of operation and control of rotating machines, and this may influence the choice of cooling media, construction materials, types of bearings, ducting systems, sources of fresh air, hazardous area suitability, etc. 

Mechanical hazards—moving vehicles and machines, moving parts of machinery, uncontrolled moving objects, objects and parts with sharp edges or rough surfaces. 

During the industrial revolution more and more injuries and work-related fatalities occurred because of the poor woik conditions, hazardous environments, and unguarded machinery and mechanisms. Managanent used a number of defenses to absolve themselves of any responsibility for the deaths and injuries that occurred at their mills, factories, and workplaces. The four most commonly used defenses foUow. 

Dangerous parts of machinery - guarding machinery to avoid the risks arising from mechanical hazards. The principal duty is to take effective measures to prevent contact with dangerous parts of machinery by providing ... 

Electrical safety is not limited only to products covered by the Low-Voltage Directive (LVD). According to the Machinery Directive, machine designers must also be aware of electrical safety since machines pose electrical hazards and they utilize numerous electrical components and subassemblies. The Low-Voltage Directive, General Product Safety Directive, and Machinery Directive mandate a product s conformity with the relevant electrical, mechanical, component, and other safety standards. To ensure that machinery electrical hazards are addressed by machine manufacturers, EN 60204-1/IEC 204-1 (Electrical Equipment of Machines) was published in both the Low-Voltage and Machinery directives, and, therefore, electrical requirements must also be applied to machinery. EN 60204-1 is a generic safety standard (type B) used in conjunction with the relevant machine safety standards (type C). 

Machinery and Machine Guarding 29 CFR 1910.211-219 Worker protection from mechanical hazards ... 

A shield or barrier that has no moving parts associated with it or is not dependent upon the mechanism of any machinery, which when in position, prevents access to a hazard or area. See also Automatic Guard Distant Guard Machine Guarding. 

Engineering guidelines produced by Factory Mutual (FM) to help reduce the risk of property loss due to fire, weather, and/or electrical or mechanical equipment failure. They are based on input from loss experience, research results, consensus standards committees, equipment manufacturers, and other interested participants. The subjects covered include construction, sprinklers, water supply, extinguishing equipment, electrical equipment, boilers and industrial heating equipment, hazards, storage, miscellaneous, human factors, systems instrumentation and control, pressure vessels, mechanical, welding, and boiler and machinery. They may also be referred to as FM Global Property Loss Prevention Data Sheets. See also Factory Mutual (FM). 

Mechanical hazards — These are present wherever machinery like drills, sanders, saws, or other machinery is used. Injruies resulting from machinery use might include cuts, punctures,... 

No specific training requirements are called for in the OSHA demo-htion regulations. However, 1926.21(b)(2) says employees must be trained to recognize and avoid rmsafe conditions and the regulations applicable to his work environment to control or eliminate the hazards. The OSHA rules at 1926.20(b)(4) say that employers shall permit only those employees qualified by training or experience to operate equipment and machinery. In addition, 1926.856 and. 858 refer to 29 CFR 1926 subparts N, O, and CC where cranes, derricks, and other mechanical or hoisting equipment are used, and these subparts may provide further training provisions, where apph-cable. 

Noise. May be prompted by machinery, flares, ejectors, vents, pressure releases, sirens, or mechanical handlings. Noise above a certain decibel is considered a hazard. Immediate consequence temporary loss of hearing, nuisance. 

Any mechanical motion that threatens a worker s safety should not remain unguarded. OSHA s reasoning behind this point is quite clear and is reinforced often—anytime the safety professional investigates on-the-job injuries involving crushed hands and arms, severed fingers, blindness, and other horrifying machinery-related injuries. For the safety official, the goal is quite clear when the operation of a machine or accidental contact with it can injure the operator or others in the vicinity, the hazards must be either controlled or eliminated. 

Since the mechanical hazard of machinery arises principally from someone coming into contact or entanglement with dangerous components, risk reduction is based on preventing this contact occurring. 

Provide sketches to show clearly the nature of the following mechanical hazards from moving parts of machinery ... 

The range of applications of size reduction is very wide. It includes the preliminary breakup of large masses into pieces that can be handled in a process and the grinding of smaller particles into fine powders. The size and design of equipment reflect this situation. Broadly, size reduction apparatus can be divided into those types which depend on mechanical crushing and those which use impact to fracture the solids. Table 3-13 shows some of the common types of equipment with their principal characteristics. Major hazards are those associated with the machinery and with the material being processed. 

Whenever the inadvertent or unauthorized starting of a piece of driven equipment will create a hazard for inspection or maintenance personnel, it is important to disable that equipment while work is being performed. The hazard might be strictly mechanical, as in contact with rotating machinery, or partly chemical, as in a release caused by the pressure developed by a pump or compressor. 

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